Escutcheon assemblies are used, primarily for decorative purposes, to mask the holes in wall and ceiling surfaces through which a line extends. Escutcheon assemblies are utilized as part of ceiling fixtures, particularly for fire sprinkler systems in which it is necessary for a drop line and sprinkler head to extend through a ceiling. Of particular concern, however, is the repair or replacement of a ceiling or a portion of a ceiling in the event of a leak in the sprinkler system after it has been installed. Conventionally the fire sprinkler system is installed and tested prior to the installation of the ceiling. Escutcheon assemblies of the design to which the present invention relates, when utilized with sprinkler fire extinguisher systems are normally preinstalled on the drop line prior to installation of the sprinkler head and prior to installation of the ceiling panels. Following testing and approval of the fire sprinkler system, the ceiling panels are then installed and the escutcheon assemblies positioned against the ceiling panels to hide the holes through which the sprinkler lines extend.
Although a number of escutcheon designs are available in the prior art, the present invention is directed to an adjustable assembly which includes a drop line cover which covers the extending portion of the drop line through the ceiling and an adjustable skirt member which is frictionally carried by the drop line cover and which can be readily adjusted to fit snugly against the ceiling panels. This type of escutcheon assembly design, however, is subject to some problems in that the drop line cover must be positioned on the drop line prior to installation of the sprinkler head. This means that once installed, the drop line cover cannot be removed or replaced without destroying the dropline cover or without interrupting the integrity of the sprinkler system which is highly undesirable once the system has been installed, tested and approved. By the same token it is often necessary to break through the ceiling at points adjacent the sprinkler heads to repair or replace the ceiling panels or to permit access to areas behind the ceiling panel. Under those circumstances it is usually necessary to remove the escutcheon assemblies from the sprinkler head lines in order to permit removal of the ceiling surface or the ceiling panel in that area. With conventionally designed escutcheon assemblies it is necessary to destroy the assembly to remove it or remove the sprinkler head and thus interrupt the integrity of the sprinkler system which is to be avoided if at all possible.
Accordingly it would be helpful to have an escutcheon assembly which is reusable and which can be assembled and disassembled on the sprinkler line without interrupting the integrity of the sprinkler system.